Susie Searches

Eager but awkward college student Susie (Kiersey Clemons) balances classes, a part-time job, being a caretaker for her chronically ill mother, and solving crimes via her podcast, Susie Searches. Despite her meticulous investigative skills and prowess at amateur criminal psychology, Susie’s podcast languishes in obscurity. Meanwhile, the spacey, meditation-based social media platform of her classmate Jesse (Alex Wolff) goes viral, making him a minor celebrity.

When Jesse suddenly goes missing, Susie — putting little faith in Sheriff Loggins (Jim Gaffigan) and the local officers with whom she interns — launches her own investigation, conveniently leveraging Jesse’s popularity to draw concerned listeners to her podcast. However, as Susie gets closer to solving the case, which offers an increasing number of surprises just as she’s getting media attention for her efforts, the ethics of her methods come under scrutiny by those who know her best.

Filmmaker Sophie Kargman expands her successful 2020 short of the same name for this smart, snappy, and stylized feature debut. As Susie, Clemons gives a pitch-perfect performance portraying a young woman (all braces and childish wardrobe, and playing more like a high-school freshman) managing competing desires: to earnestly be of service and to feed a gnawing ambition for public validation. A supporting cast filled with veteran comedians (Gaffigan and Ken Marino) and emerging talents (Wolff, Rachel Sennott, and Jared Gilman) round out this darkly comic thriller.

ROBYN CITIZEN